I created this blog to capture the joy, humor and challenges of every day life before the kids are grown and gone. As the posts pile up, I've realized a series of insignificant, average, and even boring days can add up to something pretty awesome.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

If you're anything like me, you are constantly on the hunt for filling, tasty meatless dinners. Well, we've had some hits and misses, but we tried a winner tonight and I just wanted to share.

Lentils and Spinach over Rice
(got the original recipe here, but my version is way better if I do say so myself)

2 cups brown rice (and any additional ingredients required by pkg)

2 TBS vegetable oil

2 med-large white onions, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup lentils

3 cups broth (I used low sodium chicken broth)

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp cumin

2 carrots finely chopped

1/2 of a 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted with garlic flavor)

3 handfuls of fresh spinach (a little more than 4 cups, I think)

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook brown rice according to package directions. (Usually 1:2 ratio of rice to water...mix it together in a pot with a pat of butter (optional), bring to a boil then stir, cover and simmer on low for 35-45 minutes.)

While rice is simmering, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat in a stock pot. Add diced onion and garlic, saute until tender and a nice golden color (about 5-7 min give or take). Add a splash of the broth and stir, scraping the bottom to loosen any cooked-on garlic/onion goodness. Add the rest of the broth, lentils, salt and cumin, give it a good stir, then cover and turn down heat to simmer for 35 minutes. When there are *20 minutes remaining, add the carrots. When there are 10 minutes remaining, add the tomatoes. When there are 5 minutes or less remaining, wilt in the spinach. Season to taste and serve over rice. *15 minutes or less if you prefer your carrots al dente

I failed to take a picture of the final product because my cooking endeavors are usually not photo-worthy, but the final product looked something like this, only less soupy and with tomatoes

(p.s. the pic is from a lentil soup recipe I found here. Will have to try it, it looks tasty!)